


Sugar Kisses

by envythenight



Category: Some Like It Hot (1959)
Genre: Asexual Character, F/F, F/M, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, it is only very very vaguely implied but that's how i see it so that's how i'm tagging it, it's up to the reader how much sugar understands what's going on, please note that this character is not stated asexual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-25 15:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21358195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/envythenight/pseuds/envythenight
Summary: Some people are lucky enough to find love with another person. Sugar doesn't know how she managed to find it with three.
Relationships: Joe "Josephine"/Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, Joe "Junior"/Sugar Kane Kowalczyk
Kudos: 6





	1. Need a Little Sweetness in My Life

**Author's Note:**

> So I watched Some Like it Hot for the first time a few months ago and I loved it... but perhaps not for the same reasons as everyone else in the room with me. 
> 
> The consensus on AO3 seems to be that Daphne prevails and goes on to live with Osgood - and I certainly agree, and was initially going to write the same. But then I couldn't help but wonder... What if Josephine also prevailed?

It was a warm sunny day, lounging on the yacht deck, when Sugar finally piped up with the question she’d been mulling over for weeks now.

“Say Joe,” she said, turning her face away from Joe’s chest to look up at him, “whatever happened to Josephine?”

Joe stared at her, mouth half-open. Words refused to materialise for several moments. Sugar waited patiently for them to appear. 

“She– I-” He swallowed. “I don’t want to think about… about Josephine.”

“But I sure miss her something awful sometimes,” Sugar sighed, flicking her gaze upwards to the cloudless sky. 

“You do?” Joe asked, disbelieving. Sugar nodded quickly. 

“I hope she comes to visit some time,” Sugar said softly, turning to curl back into Joe’s chest. She could feel how rapidly his heart was beating against his ribcage.

“I… I’ll see what I can do.”

Sugar smiled. 

* * *

As the summer days grew shorter, Joe and Sugar took to the habit of watching the sun sink below the salmon water. By this point, Sugar had almost accepted that Joe had forgotten about their conversation on the deck that day.

The first stars began to appear in the sky and Sugar snuggled into Joe’s side, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Should we head in, Joe?”

Joe bit his lip and didn’t reply for a moment. 

“Tell you what, Sugar,” he said finally, “you head in. I’ll catch you up in a bit; I’ve got something I need to do first.”

“It is anything I can help with?” Sugar asked quickly, batting her eyelashes.

Joe smiled down at her. 

“No, doll, you just rest easy.”

Sugar tilted her head, looking at him curiously in the hopes that he would explain himself further, but it was no dice. 

“Okay,” she said, trusting him, and kissed his cheek. Joe seemed almost reluctant to let her slip through his fingers. 

Glancing over her shoulder at his silhouette, she headed to their cabin. She hoped, as she slipped into her nightclothes, that whatever he was planning, he would be back soon. In preparation for his arrival, she draped herself over the bed in a manner she was sure would be enticing. 

Not even a few minutes later, there was a knock at her door. The noise surprised her, as Joe never felt the need to knock and she certainly didn’t need him to. 

“Come in,” she called cautiously, sitting up on her knees.

The door cracked open. Sugar couldn’t see much through the slit, only that there was a tall, dark figure waiting behind. Her heart jumped slightly. 

The door slowly swung further open to reveal the figure behind it: a beautiful young lady, with curls of dark hair, smoky eyes and shiny red lips. In her hair was pinned a small, glittering star, and her dress shimmered with pearls. 

“Josephine!” Sugar cried, jumping to her feet in shock and overwhelming happiness. She rushed forward and gathered Josephine to her chest, standing on tiptoes to throw her arms around her neck. 

“Sugar,” came the baffled sounding reply. 

“Oh Josephine,” Sugar said, pulling back to look into Josephine’s warm brown eyes. “I’ve missed you something awful.”

“I… I heard,” Josephine mumbled, looking away. 

“Josephine,” Sugar said, calling her attention back to her. “Josephine,” she said again once Josephine’s eyes were on her, “I’ve been thinking a lot about the last thing you said to me that night…” She looked down shyly, her foot twirling nervously against the wooden floor. “Could you… Would you say it again?”

Josephine’s brow furrowed in confusion. 

“No guy is worth it?”

Sugar’s head tipped up to meet Josephine’s eyes again.

“That’s not how you said it last time,” she said softly. 

Josephine’s frown deepened, then cleared. Not a moment later, the frown appeared again. Josephine appeared to be searching Sugar’s eyes for something, and Sugar tried her best to project the warm golden feeling filling her chest and making it hard for her to breathe. Finally, Josephine’s frown melted away for good and Josephine cupped Sugar’s face in her hands, and captured her lips in a kiss. 

Josephine’s mouth was warm and soft and sweet like honey and Sugar almost drowned in it. When Josephine finally pulled away, Sugar felt drunk on happiness. 

“None of that, Sugar,” Josephine whispered, wiping away imaginary tears with her thumb. “No guy is worth it.”

“Oh, Josephine,” Sugar breathed, and surged forwards to take the next kiss from Josephine. 

When Sugar could finally bring herself to break themselves apart, it felt like a piece of her had been left behind. But that was okay: she was sure that Josephine would take good care of it. Maybe Josephine might leave a piece of herself with Sugar in return. If she did, Sugar would treasure it like it was her own child. 

Sugar looked up at Josephine through her lashes. 

“Have you ever… with a woman…?”

Josephine swallowed thickly. 

“No.”

Sugar lifted her negligee to reveal her tanned legs and white, silk underwear. 

“Do you think…?”

Josephine swallowed again.

“Yes.”

Sugar smiled softly, and raised her arms to unzip Josephine’s dress at the back, but Josephine startled and grabbed her wrists to stop her. Sugar blinked up at her.

“I…” Josephine’s voice broke and she drew in a great shuddering breath, her bottom lip trembling. “I’m afraid…”

Sugar twisted their hands so that she was now holding Josephine’s and squeezed tightly. 

“But Josephine,” she said, earnestly and wide-eyed, “why?” 

Josephine was unable to meet her eyes and said no more.

“Oh Josephine,” Sugar sighed, and stood to kiss her, slow and gentle. 

At first, Josephine resisted, but Sugar had had practice with this sort of resistance. She continued pouring all her love and affection into their kiss, and Josephine couldn’t help but melt into it. When Sugar drew away, Josephine’s mouth followed hers for a moment. There were tears on her face. 

“Do you understand now?” Sugar asked softly. 

Josephine made a movement that could have been a nod or shake of the head. Sugar laughed at the silliness of it, and Josephine managed a watery smile. 

“Let me keep showing you then.”

She raised her hands again to reach the zipper at the back of Josephine’s dress. Josephine didn’t stop her this time.

Sugar pulled the dress down to reveal a creamy, wide, flat chest, with smatterings of hair trailing from her belly button down into her underwear. Her underwear, in contrast to her chest, bulged curiously. 

“You look a little different to me under all those clothes, Josephine,” Sugar said, cocking her head slightly. 

Josephine went scarlet and made to cover herself, but Sugar caught her wrists before she could. 

“I guess I’m going to have to do an awful lot of exploring to figure it all out,” Sugar whispered, and Josephine went limp in her arms. Sugar couldn’t help but giggle slightly at the dazed expression on Josephine’s face.

“Come on,” Sugar beckoned, pulling her over to the bed. 

Sugar had never thought of herself as someone interested in learning before, but that night she discovered that there was nothing she loved more than studying how to tease moans from Josephine’s pretty red lips. She mapped the length of Josephine’s body with more detail than the most obsessive cartographer and came to know which parts Josephine wished her to avoid, and which parts would drive her wild. She certainly figured out in great detail which parts of Josephine were different, and how.

Sugar was not the only one learning: Josephine grew bolder with each kiss, and it was not long before flipped them over so that she too could make a study, only this time, the subject was Sugar’s own body. Sugar quickly came to have great sympathy for Josephine, as it turned out to be sweet torture having someone inspect every inch of one’s body. Sugar was sure her throat would be sore for days. 

When they finally collapsed next to each other, the exploration concluded, if only for the moment, it was the satisfied heavy breathing of those who now knew each other inside and out. 

All of which was to say, Sugar had never had a more perfect night.

* * *

Sugar awoke the next morning to the warmth of being wrapped in Josephine’s arms. She stretched pleasantly, basking in the good feeling like a cat. She let her eyes rest for a few moments more.

Not long later, Josephine stirred. Carefully, she withdrew her arms from Sugar’s body but Sugar didn’t like that and pretended to wake.

“Josephine?” she whispered sleepily, twisting her body to look at Josephine over her shoulder. “Are you leaving?”

Josephine observed her for a moment, without words. Then,

“I have to go,” she whispered back. 

Sugar sat up swiftly. 

“Must you?” she demanded.

Josephine smiled at her sadly.

“I must,” she said simply. 

“You’ll come back, won’t you?” Sugar asked, desperately. 

Without warning, Josephine dipped her head to capture Sugar’s lips in a kiss. As always, it was gentle and warm, and filled Sugar with a feeling lighter than air. 

“I’ll always come back for you, Sugar,” Josephine whispered, swiping a thumb across Sugar’s cheek. She rose and left, with only a short glance behind her. 

Despite being alone, Sugar smiled. She curled Josephine’s pillow towards her and collapsed back onto the bed. 

Josephine would be back. After all, she’d left something very important behind for Sugar to look after. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once Josephine prevailed, I couldn't help but wonder who else might... Tune in next week for Sugar's _other_ other partner!


	2. Sugar, Yes Please

Days with Joe were always wonderful. There was something calming about being out on the ocean: no one in sight and nothing to do but enjoy the gentle rocking of the waves against their yacht. It was therefore surprising to them both when, one day, they caught sight of another boat in the distance. Its movement caused the sea to slosh against the sides of their yacht angrily. 

“I wonder if Osgood’s seen it,” Joe muttered worriedly. 

Osgood was well aware of their situation, and had no desire to see his precious Daphne dealt with by mobsters. There was no chance that he would continue on course to the other vessel if he had spotted it. 

“He’s been at this much longer than we have,” Sugar comforted him, clinging to his side and holding the lapel of his jacket so that he would look down at her. He kept his eyes narrowed on the boat for a few moments more, but finally rewarded her with a smile and said:

“You’re right, of course. It’s only, you know how I get sometimes.”

Joe did tend to get rather paranoid, but Sugar thought this was rather fair of him, given that he had run to the other side the country, in disguise no less, and yet, through unfortunate coincidence, he had still been found by the gangsters. He worried constantly about another, less fortunate happenstance. Sugar thought it might be prudent to move him onto another subject.

“It couldn’t be Junior…”

Joe seemed to have learned a little since she’d last brought up such a sensitive topic, as he did not react so strongly as when she had first mentioned Josephine. Still, he paused a moment before he said anything in return. 

“I rather think it couldn’t be,” he said finally. “It doesn’t look anything like the yacht you described.”

“Do you think he’s nearby though?” Sugar asked, blinking up at him honestly. 

“... It’s not beyond the realms of possibility,” he replied cautiously. 

Sugar curled into him, staring out into the glittering ocean. 

“Do you think he’s happy with that girl? The one his father chose?”

“How could he be? He’d met you, after all.”

The swiftness of this response seemed to surprise even Joe himself. Sugar felt that familiar warm, yellow wave of happiness well up inside her. She let it carry her up to meet Joe’s lips. 

When they broke apart, Joe, despite his enthusiastic role in their kiss, was looking down at her nervously.

“Do you miss him?” he asked worriedly. “Like you… like you missed Josephine?”

Sugar needed a moment to find the words she needed. It was an odd experience for her, as she usually said whatever was in her mind at any given moment. However, she couldn’t help feeling that this situation required some delicate handling. 

“I think,” she said slowly, “I think that it’s rather that he misses me.”

Joe regarded her thoughtfully. Then, he bent down to kiss her. 

“Who wouldn’t?”

* * *

A few nights later, while Sugar was waiting up for Joe one night, the lamps burning low, there was a knock at their door. Sugar frowned; Josephine’s visits tended to be quite rare, and she had been on board quite recently. It seemed unlikely that she would have returned already.

On the other hand, Sugar knew it couldn’t be Joe, as he never knocked. Daphne also had quite a tendency not to knock, which had resulted in quite a few unfortunate interruptions. 

Sugar sat up in bed, drawing the covers around her.

“Come in,” she called. 

The door immediately swung open and in the low light, Sugar could just make out a white sailor’s cap and a pair of thick, black glasses. Sugar’s heart leapt, but she didn’t dare to believe it until the stranger stepped into the light and she saw it truly was him. 

“Junior!” she squealed, jumping from the bed and rushing up to meet him, only to stop short at the last second. Perhaps he wouldn’t appreciate her throwing herself at him, not when it had taken him so long to learn to like kissing and with that… that other woman possibly still in the picture. Instead, she looked up at him through her lashes. 

“Yes, my darling,” he said lowly and took her hands in his. Sugar tried her hardest not to melt. 

“What about… Miss Venezuela?” she asked shyly, scared of the response. 

“Do you know,” he said quietly, “the day I left, it was like my veins were shot with novocaine, spreading it from my heart to my whole body. Each day without you was numb. Unfeeling.” He looked sadly at her. “I wonder, even now, if it was all a mad dream I had, loving you.” 

“It wasn’t,” Sugar said breathily.

“And yet, here you are and I still feel numb,” he sighed.

“I suppose I shall simply have to cure you again,” Sugar smiled.

She stood on her tiptoes and curled her fingers into his shirt. 

“Nothing,” he sighed, and turned his head away from her. With a finger, she pushed it back. 

“Just watch,” she said and brought his lips down to hers. 

There was some resistance, just as she’d remembered. She didn’t let that stop her, instead continuing to coax his tongue into her mouth. When she had finally managed it, she drew back. 

“How was that?”

“You’re very kind to try-”

“Not good enough then,” she nodded and surged up to meet him this time. 

Sugar hadn’t tried honey very often; it had always seemed like there were more important things to buy, like alcohol and cigarettes. However, the few occasions she had tasted it, it had always seemed to brighten up the darkest winter nights, like it held warm summer evening in just a spoonful. 

Kissing Junior reminded her a lot of honey. Everything else fell away and all she could think of was how warm and happy and safe she felt inside, as though there were honey coating all her insides. 

There was a key difference between Junior and honey, though, and therein lied the reason she’d passed over honey for so long. A jar ended; the summer day had its sunset. Yet kissing Junior could go on forever.

“I think I felt something,” Junior said softly as they reluctantly broke apart. 

Sugar pulled him to the bed, and he put up no more than a token protest. He lay down on the covers and Sugar climbed on top of him, her legs either side of his hips. She leaned forward so she was hovering over him, her lips inches from his.

“Keep inhaling,” Sugar whispered and kissed him. 

Junior’s hands came up to hold her hips, his thumbs stroking her skin gently. Sugar was surprised he was even able to focus on making the motion; she, for one, was having trouble doing anything but sinking deeper and deeper into honey, letting it drown her in her happiness. 

It could have been hours later when Junior lifted her from his hips and laid her gently down against the pillows. She was dizzy with breathlessness and didn’t even have a moment to think he might be leaving before he was kissing her. He seemed to do it delicately, as though he were afraid of breaking her, as though she were something precious. 

A small, helpless sob escaped her and Junior was shushing her gently in response, like she were a flighty deer. 

“What’s wrong, Sugar?” he whispered into her skin, pressing kisses into her neck. 

She laughed, and a tear rolled down her cheek. 

“I’m so happy,” she gasped, as he continued to pepper kisses across her face. 

“That should be my line,” he smiled at her.

She stared up at him, her handsome billionaire who had stolen her heart away. 

“I’m so lucky,” she breathed.

“You’ll have to stop stealing my lines,” Junior said softly, “or there’ll be none of the script left for me,” and pressed his lips to hers.

She couldn’t help but giggle into it, and Junior smiled automatically in response. He pressed a final kiss to her cheek and rolled over to lie beside her. She gratefully snuggled into him. His warmth and weight against her back was comforting, and as he began rubbing circles against her hips with his thumbs, she drifted off to sleep. 

* * *

When Sugar awoke, it was Joe at her back; Junior had never been good at goodbyes. 

But, Sugar thought, spying a giftbox tied with a red ribbon on her dressing table, he was rather good at other things that mattered rather more. 

On the card, she could see he’d written ‘Sugar, for my Sugar’. The rest of the note was filled with kisses. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks! I um'd and ah'd about adding a chapter for Joe, but I felt I didn't have much to say on that front and I think Joe and Sugar's story is somewhere under the surface in Josephine's and Junior's chapters. I hope y'all enjoyed :)


End file.
